Electric Vehicle Team named design champion at race competition

KENNESAW, Ga.
(Jun 5, 2017) — Kennesaw State University’s Electric Vehicle Team recently won first place for engineering
design at the International evGrandPrix, an international intercollegiate competition
of electric-powered go-karts.

The International evGrandPrix scoring is based on three key areas: race performance,
energy efficiency and engineering design of the lightweight vehicles.

“We developed a new type of battery pack for the competition that had never been used
before, and the judges were very impressed by our ability to design and manufacture
it,” said Tyler Rowan, the electrical design team lead and the driver for KSU’s team.

Because of high winds on race day, which knocked over a timing transponder tower that
tracks vehicle positions, competition officials were only able to award the first-place
finisher, Purdue University.

The Kennesaw State team, founded in 2013, has been competing in the annual evGrandPrix
for five years, earning first place in race performance in 2016. Four of the team’s
22 members – Rowan, Austin May, Neil Grimsley and Fang Lin, who are all electrical
engineering majors – traveled to Indianapolis for the race.

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers more than 150 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 35,000 students. With 13 colleges on two metro Atlanta campuses, Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia and the third-largest university in the state. The university's vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the region and from 92 countries across the globe. A Carnegie-designated doctoral institution, it is one of the 50 largest public institutions in the country. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.